Adriana Sanford

Biography

Following an abduction while on company business, international whistleblower Dr. Adriana Sanford has distinguished herself by educating executives, thousands of college students, and the public at large on global threats and the dangers of corporate corruption. The international television commentator appears regularly as a CNN analyst/contributor to over 49 million households in the United States and Latin America. Read More >

Dr. Sanford is frequently described as “an audience grabber” and as having “the unique ability to speak to students, captains of industry, and academicians all in the same audience." With fluency in four languages, she serves as a keynote to leading think tanks, non-profits, and multinationals in the U.S. and Latin America, including the keynote in Mexico City for one of the largest IT, telecom, technology and security conferences in Latin America for Spanish-speaking professionals specializing in audit, security, cyber ethics, cyber security, governance and IT risk. Last year, Dr. Sanford provided keynote addresses in Chile for Corporación de Estudios para Latinoamérica (CIEPLAN), which is one of Latin America's leading think tanks. Over the last decade, she has lectured at more than 130 industry conferences and fora and worked with a broad range of global organizations to foster responsibility within the private sector and encourage foundations of trust and integrity in foreign markets, including global entities such as ISACA, ISSA, RSA, Institute for Supply Management, and Rotary International.

Dr. Sanford provides high impact experiential courses featuring real-world encounters that demonstrate the complexities of open-ended situations and the severe consequences that may result from foreign jurisdiction non-compliance. Have you ever been on a path where no path you take is the correct path? As the former in-house counsel of a Fortune 50 company, Dr. Sanford warns that legal ethics rules vary in foreign countries and sometimes conflict with domestic rules, which places U.S. companies, executives, and in-house counsel in the legal and moral dilemma of deciding which laws and ethical rules to follow and which to break.

Dr. Sanford’s expertise is on global threats and laws at the international level, where possible outcomes for corporate non-compliance creates criminal liability and poses physical danger for executives and their in-house counsel in foreign territories.

Dr. Sanford’s extensive experience addressing international organized crime and linking it to corporate fraud, bribery clubs, and other forms of business malfeasance spans over a 20-year period, including an international drug cartel and an illegal scheme involving Russian loans that resulted in the arrest and 30-year imprisonment of her former employer’s CEO. Over the decades, she has handled multiple complex corruption and embezzlement cases in the United States and abroad.

When the pre-Snowden whistleblower later found herself in peril for uncovering illegal schemes that went far beyond taxes, phantom shipments and trade-based money laundering, she diligently protected her team. For the last decade, Dr. Sanford has followed a path of teaching and educating others with regard to these difficult issues, global threats, and their consequences. Within the universe of corporate legal ethics, her actions have been viewed by the public as a badge-of-honor and a model to be studied.

Although Dr. Sanford’s most recent situation is slightly over a decade ago, it remains a textbook case as to why whistleblower protection laws and regulations should protect corporate in-house counsel in cases involving international criminal activity. After uncovering several illegal schemes that included U.S. senior executives’ involvement with, or knowledge of, improper conduct to circumvent U.S. sanctions in the Middle East, her life was in danger; while on company business overseas, she was repeatedly placed in harm’s way facing bad actors that proved to be corrupt, unethical, and extremely dangerous. Physical harm had already befallen at least one team member.

An unfortunate result of being an international whistleblower was that she and her former Notre Dame Criminal Law professor (the nation's foremost authority on the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization Act) received a one-month sanction from a state bar more than a decade later. They were both reprimanded by a state bar twelve years later for disclosures despite the fact that the corporate conduct was on-going and violated U.S. and foreign laws, and that these disclosures were made primarily for safety reasons. Interestingly, most of the international ongoing illegal activity reported to relevant foreign and U.S. regulators (Criminal Fraud Division of the U.S. Department of Justice and U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation was never made public by the press (except for a Brazilian tax fraud matter that created criminal liability for her in US and foreign territories, if undisclosed).

In the last ten years, Dr. Sanford has had numerous articles published that cover important and current aspects of global corporate ethics and compliance by the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) and the International Enforcement Law Reporter. With over 50,000 members in 100 countries, ISM is the largest institute in the world for supply chain leaders. They also adopted two of Dr. Sanford’s books (which she co-authored with Hewlett Packard’s Chief Technology Officer for Europe, Middle East and Africa and other internationally recognized experts) on global threats commemorating ISM’s centennial anniversary. More recently, the privacy and cyber security expert co-authored a security book, Women in Security: Changing the Face of Technology and Innovation that is part of the Women in Science and Engineering book series.

Academically, Dr. Sanford has taught more than 7,300 graduate and undergraduate students in the United States and abroad, including Pepperdine University, Loyola Marymount University, Universidad de Talca, Arizona State University, and as a Georgetown Law Dean’s Visiting scholar. With decades of international experience and multiple law degrees from Georgetown Law and Notre Dame Law School, her two decades of practical legal knowledge in real-world settings on three continents sets her apart from other academics in her field.

Additionally, Dr. Sanford served a two-year term on the Amnesty International USA Board of Directors, as delegate to the APEC CEO summit in Chile, as well as on the advisory committee of the World Economic Forum’s “Partnering Against Corruption Initiative” to further increase corporate transparency and to continue with her efforts of combating international organized crime. Read Less ^

Speech Topics

Landmark rulings and new laws in the US and foreign territories have far-reaching implications on how personal data is being collected, stored, accessed, and used in the United States. As outsourcing and innovative technology continues to sweep the world, many small and medium-sized businesses are looking to one another for guidance on how to adapt their policies to suit the current environment and comply with Data Security, Data Privacy, upcoming CCPA, GDPR and variations therefrom.

Learn how to build awareness and develop guiding principles to combat global threats and navigate through the critical challenges in the age of terrorism. Product counterfeiting and human trafficking sabotage global supply chains, create barriers to corporate profitability, and endanger national security interests. The expectation that a ransom payment can be reimbursed sometimes facilitates the payment by executives; paying ransoms for cyber-attacks, however, fuels terrorist activity and encourages further attacks.

Significant progress has occurred through the sharing of practices and lessons learned. Consistent legislation in geopolitical areas, however, is not always available. Learn how to ethically protect your company and your team against non-compliance when US laws does not mesh with foreign laws, as decisions may carry personal criminal liability or have strong repercussions on a global scale. Executives need clear guidance as to the way forward when the US and foreign governments fail to endorse consistent principles in the new security landscape.

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Testimonials

Adriana Sanford, JD, delivered an exceptional program at the Loyola Marymount University Faculty Pub Night. Her unique and timely insight on cybersecurity, navigating the complex web of International laws, and the impact on business, was eye opening. In addition, her perspective on the sense of urgency to address these issues was clarified with evidence-based cases relatable to the distinguished guests. Her inspiration to ignite diversity in cybersecurity education rang strong with everyone present, tying the need with the solution beautifully. Adriana is a true leader and will continue to generate ideas and approaches that will surely lead to action. It was an honor and privilege to hear her present.

- Senior Vice President, Willis Towers Watson

​"Adriana was the keynote speaker in ISACA's Latin America Computer Audit Control and Security Conference that took place in September 2015. She is an excellent lecturer and multidimensional expert combining legal, technology, governance and policy related knowledge that gives her audience the opportunity to achieve a holistic opinion on the presented subject."

- Chair of the Board of Directors, ISACA

"I have the utmost respect and admiration for Adriana Sanford as a professional and a person. She is a legal thought leader and a strong human rights defender, who created and implemented best legal practices for multinationals including one of the largest companies in the world. More importantly, through noble acts of bravery, she protected her clients, employees, and senior executives from international organized crime and corruption. Rarely do we see such individuals with this level of competency, courage, and integrity. When it comes to a sound and incorruptible legal mind, Adriana is second to none."

- President, International Institute of Management

"Adriana is extremely knowledgeable and articulate both as a presenter and as a writer on topics of supply chain ethics, international financial crime enforcement, and other matters of comparative law. In addition to her overall expertise and keen understanding of the practical aspects of international business and supply chain management, her contemporary teaching style and high degree of professionalism have proven to be extremely valuable."

- Chief Content & Engagement Officer Institute for Supply Management™

"Adriana spoke for us at ISSA’s CISO Executive Forum, on the supply chain, security and privacy, across organizations, jurisdictions and countries. She is a compelling expert speaker who fully engaged our CISO audience, who are certainly experts in their own cyber security line of work. Adriana was professional, articulate and responsive to our needs and what the audience wanted, and she delivered a successful session that provoked new thought and learning. Adriana also spoke to our local security chapters on similar topics. She resonates and can carry the program. Adriana is an expert in her field who is driven, articulate and passionate. She’s approachable, helpful and responsive—really goes out of her way to help. One of my personal goals is helping other women succeed in our field, and Adriana falls into that camp as well. All of my interaction with Adriana is professional and top notch, over the top in exceeding expectations."

- ISSA International Board of Directors Chair, CISO Advisory Council

"Adriana Sanford was the keynote speaker at the April 21, 2017 Information Systems Security Association (ISSA) CISO Forum in Washington, D.C. Dr. Sanford brilliantly addressed Chief Cyber Security Officers on Multijurisdictional Conflicts Under a New Security Landscape. She explained that the new landscape requires greater collaboration among governments and the private sector and that legal debates concerning personal data, encrypted communications, and mass government surveillance will continue to mount. As National security remains a concern - she discussed how governments are scrambling to protect their own interests in an inter-connected world—often at the expense of privacy and perhaps other individual freedoms. An audience grabber - Dr. Sanford addressed numerous questions and attendees expressed their desire to have additional talks by Dr. Sanford in the future!"

- Executive Director, Information Systems Security Association

"I have been working with Professor Sanford, as part of the recent discussions around privacy, and the forthcoming new EU data protection regulation. Adriana is one of the rare persons within the US university circles, fully engaged in the international legislation initiatives, and with a particular sensitivity to international cultural differences. She advocates a stronger sensitivity and alertness for these issues within the US, and pushes for a worldwide dialogue and global approach. It is a pleasure working with her."

- Chief Technologist, Hewlett Packard Enterprise

"Adriana focuses on the recognition of the human rights of all individuals, especially children and women in situations of social vulnerability. Her desire for greater accountability and improved justice in the global community is evident by her work, including advisory and board membership positions with international humanitarian entities. These attributes, combined with her cultural awareness, multiple legal degrees, language skills, and two decades in international corporate law, make her of tremendous value for scholarly research projects on a global scale."

“One of the most listened to guests in Task Force 7 history. Adriana is not only a cyber-security expert, but she is a multidimensional professional with experience and expertise in a variety of different domains and that is what makes her so interesting to listen to…. Adriana has one of the top 5 most listened to episodes...”

"Dr. Adriana Sanford delivered a brilliant keynote presentation at the 2017 Washington DC ISSA CISO Forum....A fellow CISO's comment at the end of the presentation echoed the thought of other attendees....'you could hear a pin drop'..."

"Adriana Sanford is truly a gifted speaker. She has the unique ability to speak to students, captains of industry and academicians all in the same audience. She displays her passion on the topic of International Cyber Risk through a deep understanding of the legal and business ramifications. Dr. Sanford is an exceptional communicator in person as well as on radio or television. I highly recommend her as a feature speaker for any significant gathering. She will not disappoint."